Canadian Terrie Todd defies the odds with her debut inspirational fiction novel The Silver Suitcase. The publishing industry proclaims books set in a locale outside of the United States will not sell. Terrie chose to stick to her original setting in Manitoba and the book took off. The Silver Suitcase, published by Waterfall Press in 2016, has sold well over five thousand copies and reached the benchmark of a best seller in Canada.
Over the last week, I enjoyed reading The Silver Suitcase and dreaming of what it would be like to achieve such instant success. I fear my ego is not ready for the challenge and the Lord has seen fit to keep me a lowly book author/seller.
My successes have been on a much smaller scale. I was thrilled when a postal worker handed me a twenty for a copy while I was getting All That Glitters weighed for postage a couple of weeks ago. I was further ecstatic when a friend said she’d nearly sold out in the Wetaskiwin area markets (five books.) The local museum made my day when they bought four copies last week and yesterday the local book store shelf was empty. My two copies were either sold or stolen.
For now, I will have to leave the fame in Terrie’s capable hands.
The Silver Suitcase (I love the cover) weaves a tale between a grandmother in 1939 and a granddaughter in 1981. The granddaughter follows the struggle of her grandmother in giving a child up for adoption through diaries found in; you guessed it, a silver suitcase. We’re pulled into the reality of hardship for women and those they love during the Second World War. In contrast we follow the struggles of a modern family through job loss and its pervading effects on family and marriage. Both women experience a conversion, one much more dramatic than the other but I won’t spoil it for you.
I found the book to be a slow starter; however, I became intrigued with the characters and the ending was unexpected and wonderful. I recommend the read.
Have a Wonderful Week!
Fool’s Notion: Week 12 Goal 192 Actual 149